Relationship education for families in transition between different cultural value systems : a Maltese perspective

Abstract

Malta offers a unique backdrop to the study of marriage. Together with the Philippines, it is the only country where it is not possible to obtain a divorce, although a divorce obtained overseas is recognised in Malta. The unity of the family and the need to uphold marriage as a permanent relationship continue to be important values that are embedded in our culture. Indeed, only 3.4% are officially or de facto separated in Malta (NSO 2005). The influence of a child-oriented family and the high level of marital satisfaction are more pronounced than in Anglo-American literature (Abela, Frosh & Dowling 2005). In the meantime, the attitudes and behaviour of Maltese teenagers and young adults in relationship is at times risky (NSO 2005) and is not in tune with how they would in fact like it to be (Zammit 2004, Borg Xuereb 2005, Bugeja 2008). More needs to be happening in terms of relationship education with this sector of the population.

Furthermore, young, married working women and women with a higher level of education and their husbands are finding it difficult to reconcile a traditional belief system based on traditional gender roles and the emotional wellbeing of the family with the new challenges of their own family life (Abela 1998, Azzopardi 2007, Borg Xuereb 2008). As a clinician who works with couples and families in general, I believe that couples and young people are looking for emotional connectedness when they engage in or embark on relationships that they desire to be meaningful. It is with this framework in mind that I would like to highlight the gaps that exist in the area of relationship education, as well as the factors that promote it. Again, the Maltese context – where the majority of couples have to attend premarital courses before they get married, as well as parentcraft courses on their transition to parenthood – provides us with the possibility to understand how relationship education can be more helpful to the younger generation of couples than it appears to be now.